As part of the National Maritime Museum's ongoing redevelopment, we were asked to create an internal sunshade canopy for Neptune's Globe - a new installation which transforms the Museum's upper deck with an interactive world map, vast sail sculpture and audio-visual features.

The 12m x 5m canopy was commissioned to provide sunlight protection for the items inside the exhibition. The client used a simple sun plotting programme to ensure that the canopy was the correct form to provide the right sun shading, and it is wider towards the right hand edge.

The structure is double-skinned so that the inner frame is completely screened from view. It is made from a class O fire rated fabric with a relatively lightweight frame, so that it appears slim. This meant that multiple dropwires had to be used to hold its shape. It was built over a 24 hour period.

Typically, double-skinned structures are more complicated to deal with as one skin has to be fitted after another, and any internal dirt is trapped. However, hiding the frame can make the structure appear much lighter when it can be viewed from a number of angles.